Detesting The System: Sundering Fate

Looking at my arm, which was still bleeding, I wished for a skill that would use Light energy to heal myself. Lowering the absurdity of the skill, I successfully managed to conjure a technique with only one degree of prerequisites.

[Skill Conjured: Healing Light (Locked)

1st Degree Prerequisite: Light Manipulation Level H (Yet To Be Achieved)

Intuition: The Light Manipulation skill can be cultivated with Magic Manipulation. Additionally, consuming Light-oriented magical potions or pills may raise awareness whilst cultivating.]

As I changed my plans to start training in Light Manipulation right away, Bell began unpacking his bag to retrieve some gauze. When he finally found what he was looking for, he audibly gasped at the sight of some light being conjured in between my hands. He was so excited that my injury seemed to have fled his thoughts as he asked me, "You're a Mage?!"

"I'm… beginner..." Though his words were becoming easier to understand, my speech still needed a lot of work. While I mostly concentrated on converting Base Magic to Light Magic, I told him, "Outside the dungeon… we talk more… currently, too danger..." After taking damage for the first time and knowing that Bell had yet to reach this floor by himself, I acted with as much caution as I could think of.

He seemed to have understood my message as he snapped back to work and began helping me by dressing the bite wound on my arm. With the wound sealed off, I could enter combat again and not risk bleeding out by exerting myself. Thus, we continued to clear wandering groups of monsters along the shallow depths of the dungeon; near the stairs that led up to the second floor.

For about another hour, we continued hunting near the safety of the stairs, before having to stop to take another break. During this break, I focused solely on improving my Light Magic Manipulation and after adding on all the experience I acc.u.mulated whilst walking to and from fights, I finally broke out of Level Null and into Level I.

[Alert!

Name: Light Manipulation

Level: Null → I

Effect: Allows the user to convert base Magic into Light Magic at a conversion factor of 1:12.]

It wasn't much of an improvement as I was still hemorrhaging Magic like there was no tomorrow, but at least I was one step closer to unlocking my first healing skill. My Chain Sickle Mastery and Magic Manipulation also steadily increased in proficiency as I constantly need to recover my Magic after attempting to use Light Magic and I never even thought of fighting without my weapon.

After the break, it was back into the fray. We persisted for another hour near the stairs to the second room, before what I assumed to be our next break. However, to my surprise, Bell didn't propose we take another break. Rather, he took on a hopeful smile as he said, "Today… already… more than I… in three days… You and I leave… get lunch… return to Goddess Hestia!"

Returning a nod, we decided to leave the dungeon for the day. By this point, Bell had slowed down by over 20% because of all the added weight of the several hundred monster cores we had earned. So, as we made our way up the stairs and through the second and first floors, I took the vanguard and basically took care of all the monsters that barred our path. Given all the excellia and practice I had received from the hours of training on the third floor, not once did Bell feel the need to help out as I alone was more than powerful enough.

After reaching the surface level within the tower of Babel, I let Bell take care of the rest as I mindlessly followed behind him ever-immersed in my cultivation of Light Magic. Led from Babel all the way up to the Guild, I earnestly cultivated my magic with my efforts being rewarded by a double breakthrough.

[Alert!

Magic Manipulation Level C → B

Effect: Allows the user to sense and gather slightly superior quality magic from his immediate surroundings. Range: 15 m (meters) away from the user's body

Name: Light Manipulation

Level: I → H

Effect: Allows the user to convert base Magic into Light Magic at a conversion factor of 1:11

Unlocking Skill...

New Skill

Name: Healing Light

Level: Null

Description: Allows the user to control a gentle light source that provides regenerative properties. As the skill grows in proficiency the area with which the ability can cover as well as its regenerative properties increases.

Effect: Allows the user to manifest a weak light which barely increases natural regeneration by 10%.]

Smirking in complacent, I hurriedly used my new skill to hasten the rate with which my arm healed. Upon use, I felt a cooling sensation run the length of the entire wound and what little pain there was from moving my arm was all but numbed. Leaving the skill activated, Bell and I entered the guild where we went to exchange monster cores for currency.

Bell unpacked his bag and dug up what had to be three or four hundred monster cores along with a long white nail. Confused, I held up the nail and asked him "This is?"

He responded, "Oh that? … Monster Drop… Kobold… Use for crafting… Very lucky… worth much money..." Somehow I understood that mini-speech and before I let go of the nail, I committed it to memory and vowed to enter some sort of crafting position in the future.

We turned in all our earnings for the day and Bell received a neat little pile of coins. Fortunately, there were numbers on the coins and if I remembered correctly the currency of this world was called "Vali." Quickly counting up the money given to us, I came to the conclusion that we earned 3,455 Vali. Unsure of how much that was, I turned to Bell to ask him. But before the words left my mouth, I realized I probably wouldn't understand much if we talked about finance in Japanese. Besides, now that we were leaving to go for a meal, I would probably be able to deduce the value of the Vali after the bill came our way.

Following Bell's lead, I bowed to the elder behind the currency exchange and the two of us left in search of food to reward our efforts for the day.